Sales Commission in BT Consumer is moving back to normal from June. The CWU has ensured continued safeguards are in place.

Since the move away from the 100% personal average approach to commission this month the Union has been in further dialogue with senior BT management over commission arrangements.

BT has demonstrated that call volumes have increased over the last few weeks as customers get used to the new situation and also as BT has reintroduced activities such as end of contract notifications and some marketing has restarted. Also advisor commission earnings appear to have held up well in the circumstances.

BT has also shown that in situations where the commission was not working they have taken steps to address the issue. For example, Sales Support where there was a marked difference between home workers and those working in the centres.

BT has now advised us that it is returning to normal commission arrangements from next month, though some areas will remain paying averages, such as Commercial Sport until they are able to reintroduce robust targets.

Feedback from members on this issue has been mixed. Some felt that moving away from personal averages was too soon, while others have been keen to get back to normal.

The CWU wants ensure that members earnings are protected as much as possible in these troubled times, and we are acutely aware that we remain in uncharted waters with the Covid situation. We therefore believe that some safeguards continue to be required.

As a result, we have agreed with BT to review the situation again in mid-June. BT has agreed that if it is apparent that targets have been set at inappropriate levels then the company will take steps to correct the situation.

In the meantime, please advise your local CWU rep if you experience low call volumes, poor quality calls with no sales opportunities, and any other examples where earning a bonus is not within your control. Providing us with real examples will help us in our future talks with the Company.